iZombie #25

Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Michael Allred

After this, there are only three issues of iZombie left to be published before the series comes to its end.  That 28th issue will also be Chris Roberson's last for DC, after he disparaged the company's ethics on the Internet the other week, and was then removed from an arc he was slated to write for Fairest because of it.  Many people agree with Roberson's viewpoints, some don't, and to many, it doesn't matter, because not all that many people read this comic, compared to the rest of DC's output.

And therein lies the real shame of all this, because iZombie is pretty good.  Roberson has been building this story for two years now, and we are moving into pay-off mode, as the final story arc begins here.  There is going to be an apocalypse in Eugene, of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer variety, and Gwen and her friends seem to be the best bet for stopping it.

Much of this issue is used to set up the last few issues.  Gwen receives 'training' from Amon in tapping into her full potential, and they take a little astral tour of the town, which is suffering from multiple incursions of weird monsters, as a precursor to Xitulu's appearance, which will destroy the world.  Along the way, we check in with every member of the cast of this book, and see just where they are placed on the grand chessboard.

This issue is notable because it reveals some of diner owner Dixie's history, although not her connection to the line of dolls that share her name.  I suspect that the axe dropped a little soon on this title, or we would have seen a flashback issue or arc starring Dixie at some point.

As always, Michael Allred's art in this book is wonderful.  I  think a monthly dose of Allred is what I'm going to miss the most when this title is gone.